User blog:Silent Andromeda/Hellfire: Chapter 17
Previous: Chapter 16 Naked and Afraid One moment Sardec stood in an open canyon. After a moment of feeling a sting, his next sight was a dark cavern with blue emergency lights placed amongst the floor. He frantically looked around himself, seeing none of his peers alongside him. His breathing became more intense as he scampered about the room. He backed himself into a dark corner and slid down against the wall. As he sat down, he tried to calm himself by slowing his breathing. He stood in unknown territory and found himself too cautious to even think aloud. Once he steadied his breath, Sardec accessed his built-in scanner protocol. He soon found out that he was not alone. His scan detected egg sacs attached to the ceiling, seeping a thick yellow mucus that was falling to the ground. Before he could finish identifying the sacs, small worm-like creatures crawled out of the mucus on the floor. Sardec's scan data identified the worms as "Kartinava Larvae". He backed away slowly, noticing that they were blind. Soon enough, he heard a crunch and screech from underneath his foot. He realized he had stepped on a Larvae. The others were alerted and began creeping towards the sound. Sardec's breathing began to intensify. He reached for his HBS-VI Phantom and pulled the energy bow string, firing dual energy arrows at the oncoming cluster of Larvae, blowing them to pieces. The sacs began to wobble back and forth and excreted heavier amounts of mucus. More Larvae crept out of the mucus and charged to the best of their ability. Sardec backed away and began firing at the sacs, but to no avail. He fired more arrows at the Larvae, clearing a space to get closer to the sacs. He changed his Phantom to a sword and began slashing at the sacs. The blade penetrated the tough membrane of the sacs. The sacs were slicing in half and spilling yellow mucus and blood. The Larvae cried out in terror as Sardec destroyed the remainder of them. Familiar Foes The Kartinava Larvae nest was vanquished, without a trace of any infants. In the connecting tunnel, Sardec heard footsteps growing louder and louder. Sardec prepared his position. The first Possessed soldier rushed in and was immediately beheaded by Sardec's sword. Gunfire filled the connecting tunnel, into the destroyed Larvae nest. Sardec reached for his Collapsar VOID, only to remember that he was without assistance. Sardec cursed himself and changed his Phantom back to a bow. He poked himself out of cover and fired arrows at the oncoming assailants. As Sardec retreated back to his cover point, his right shoulder spike was struck by a laser and began smoking. He patted the burning point to put out the smoke. "What I would give for at least one of my VOIDs right now!" He took a deep breath and pulled back the energy bow string. He popped out of cover and fired at the ceiling above the Possessed soldiers, causing rocks to fall down on them. While they were distracted, Sardec began rapidly firing energy arrows at his enemies. Before he knew it, return fire had ceased. Sardec waited for a moment to listen for any additional sounds, but heard none. He abandoned his point of cover and saw his assailants dead on the ground. He walked over their corpses and proceeded deeper in the cavern. Hell's Army Sardec followed the blue lights in the tunnels. He noticed the tunnels were becoming less natural and more industrial. He made his way to a window. Past the window, he saw a large cargo freight yard. Within some of the crates, he saw something very familiar. VOID material was being transported to and stored in this yard. Amongst all the Possessed workers, he saw one that was very unique. A supervisor clad in black Chaos Armor, appearing to be giving instructions. He zoomed his sight and scanned the black Chaos. The scan revealed the figure to be "General Murak". Sardec felt his heart drop. He knew he would eventually see the third and final Kartinava general, but not so soon after his own arrival. He was hypnotized by Murak's presence that he did not notice the enemy sneaking up behind him. Sardec zoomed out and saw the approaching enemy in the window's minor reflection. He quickly thrusted his upper body to the right, barely evading the Possessed soldier's strike against the window. Sardec tried to reach for his Phantom, but the assailant thrusted forward and tackled him. Sardec struggled to get the enemy off of him. The Possessed soldier brought his arm down and struck Sardec's helmet. Sardec rolled to the right and hit the enemy against the wall, causing the window to wobble. The soldier grabbed Sardec's shoulders and slammed him on the floor repeatedly. Sardec then thrusted his shoulders forward and headbutt the soldier. He weakened the enemy's grip and threw him off of him. Sardec kicked the assailant aside and got back to his feet. He reached for the Phantom and shot at the soldier's face, killing it. He looked out the window and saw Murak pointing at him. Soldiers started running about, heading for his position. Surfacing Sardec did not delay. He immediately began his escape. He frantically made for any door in the opposite direction of the freight yard. He heard footsteps growing louder in his pursuit. While still running, Sardec fired energy arrows at the ceiling above him, causing debris to collapse and block his pursuers. He then came to a room with three doors. The middle door was seen at the top of a flight of stairs. Sardec ran up the stairs and opened the door. Past the door was a small room with a hatch at the other side. Sardec barricaded the door and ran for the hatch. He opened the hatch and light flooded the small room. Sardec looked away from the blinding light, allowing time for his sight to adjust. He looked out the hatch again and found himself on Earth's surface. He climbed out of the hatch and took his first steps on the cracked asphalt. He looked around and saw an abandoned city overgrown with vegetation. He was captivated by the scenery, as it had been nothing like anything he had seen before. He soon snapped out of his gaze and ran far away from the hatch entrance and into an alleyway. He felt a similarity in his situation back at Trailblazer city. Though this Earth city was silent, it was beaming with life. Sardec made a great distance from the cavern entrance and hid inside an old building. He arranged vines to conceal himself. He climbed up the stairs to get a better view of the terrain. The city was grand and colorful, covered in various forms of plant life. On various streets, he saw Speedlings wandering around, Acid Bombers huddling, and Energy Flies building nests. It all seemed very peaceful to him. He had even wondered if these creatures would act hostile if they were to see him. At the edge of his vision, he saw Panthers grabbing crops without eating them. The Panthers were bringing it to a small building surrounded by wooden fencing. The floor began to rumble and the walls were cracking. Sardec quickly ran for the staircase. The steps shattered as he ran down, causing him to tumble the rest of the way. He got back to his feet and pushed the vines aside. Reaching outside, Sardec ran far away from the collapsing building he had previously used for safety. Concerned by the noise it created, Sardec ran far away from the entire perimeter. He continued navigating through alleyways and realized he was close to the Panthers gathering crops. He followed them while keeping himself hidden. The Panthers entered the small building by opening the door and dropped their crops in the building's interior. He found their behavior to be strangely domestic. When the Panthers left, Sardec made his way into the small building. He looked around and saw this building was not old. There was a table, a couch, a fireplace, and a bed. It had all seemed so peaceful, yet disturbing. He had never seen living quarters so personalized before. While he was busy appreciating the architecture, Sardec was struck in the back of the head, rendering him unconscious. Next: Chapter 18 Category:Blog posts